25/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | DEC 25, 2025

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Gold, silver and platinum surge to record highs platinum jumped 2.5% to US$2,333.80 after peaking at US$2,377.50. Palladium climbed almost 3% to US$1,916.69, its highest level in three years. o Investors pile into precious metals to hedge against geopolitical andtrade risks

China launches WTO complaint over India solar, IT trade measures GENEVA: China has launched a complaint with the World Trade Organisation over Indian measures on trade of solar cells and modules as well as information technology goods, the global trade body said on Tuesday. The WTO said that Beijing had requested that it initiate so-called dispute consultations with India, charging it was breaching international trade rules. Beijing is challenging certain subsidies granted to India’s solar sector as well as tariffs imposed by India on products such as phones or equipment for manufacturing flat screen display devices, according to the complaint dated on December 19 and circulated to WTO members on Tuesday. “China said the measures in question include India’s tariff treatment and certain measures that China said are contingent upon the use of domestic inputs and otherwise discriminate against Chinese imports,” the WTO explained. In the request, China charged that the Indian measures were “inconsistent with various provisions of the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures”. WTO consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel. – AFP Eneos leads bids Bloomberg News TOKYO: Japan’s top oil refiner Eneos is leading rival bidders for Chevron’s stake in a Singapore refinery, with a deal nearing completion, though potential delays remain, Bloomberg News reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chevron, in an e-mailed statement to Reuters, declined to comment on the report, while Eneos says, “there are no decisions that we made on this matter”. Reuters reported in September that the value of the entire refinery is estimated at roughly US$1 billion and global commodities traders Vitol and Glencore are expected to make formal bids for Chevron’s 50% stake. The other 50% is owned by Chinese state oil giant PetroChina through its Singapore Petroleum unit. The refinery on Jurong Island is one of three major refineries in the city-state and has a crude processing capacity of about 290,000 barrels per day. Singapore is Asia’s biggest oil trading hub and the world’s largest bunkering port where refined products are blended, sold or re-exported. – Reuters for Chevron’s Singapore oil refinery stake:

traders pricing in two rate cuts next year. Silver has jumped more than 150% over the same period, outpacing gold on strong investment demand, its inclusion on the US critical minerals list and momentum buying. Gold and silver have “been hitting the accelerator pedal this week” with fresh record highs, reflecting their appeal as stores of value amid expectations of lower US rates and lingering global debt, said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Platinum and palladium, primarily used in automotive catalytic converters to reduce emissions, have surged this year on tight mine supply, tariff uncertainty, and a rotation from gold investment demand, with platinum up about 160% and palladium gaining more than 100% year-to-date. “What we’re seeing in platinum and palladium is largely catch-up,” Spivak said, adding that the thin nature of those markets leave them vulnerable to sharp swings, even as they broadly track gold, once liquidity returns. – Reuters

“Precious metals have become more of a speculative narrative around the idea that, with de-globalisation, you need an asset that can act as a neutral go-between, without sovereign risk particularly as tensions between the US and China persist,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive. Thin year-end liquidity exaggerated recent price moves but the broader theme was likely to endure, with gold targeting US$5,000 over the next six to 12 months and silver potentially pushing toward US$80 as markets respond to key psychological levels, Spivak added. Gold has surged more than 70% this year, its biggest annual gain since 1979, driven by safe-haven demand, expectations of US rate cuts, robust central-bank buying, de dollarisation trends and ETF inflows, with

NEW past US$4,500-an-ounce for the first time yesterday, while silver and platinum also hit record highs, as investors piled into precious metals to hedge against geopolitical and trade risks, and on expectations of further US rate cuts in 2026. Spot gold rose 0.2% to US$4,495.39 per ounce by 0552 GMT (1.52pm in Malaysia), after touching a record high of US$4,525.19 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery climbed 0.4% to a record high of US$4,522.10. Silver gained 1.1% to US$72.16 an ounce, after hitting an all-time peak of US$72.70 earlier, while YORK: Gold surged

A worker polishes gold bullion bars

at the ABC Refinery in Sydney. – AFPPIC

Court rejects bid to block Korea Zinc share sale SEOUL: A South Korean court yesterday rejected a request by two major shareholders of Korea Zinc – MBK Partners and YoungPoong – to block the zinc refiner’s plan to issue new shares to help fund a US$7.4 billion US smelter. for its decision, adding that it would proceed with its US smelter project and work to enhance corporate and shareholder value.

deepen cooperation between South Korea and the United States and secure stable global demand. The filing noted that the US government sought to take an equity stake through the joint venture to ensure the project’s success, concluding that direct investment or subsidies alone would not be sufficient. Governance experts say a major beneficiary of the US smelter deal would be Korea Zinc chairman Yun B. Choi, who since October last year has been locked in a battle for control with MBK and YoungPoong. Issuing shares to a potential ally could tip the balance of power in Choi’s favour. Korea Zinc has said the US smelter project aligns Washington’s push to diversify mineral supply chains with the company’s goal of building a growth base by gaining an early foothold in the United States, the world’s largest critical minerals market. – Reuters

“We will also seek to contribute to the national economy and South Korea’s economic security as a key player in the critical minerals supply chain.” Private equity firm MBK Partners and conglomerate YoungPoong, which together hold about 46% of Korea Zinc, said that they were disappointed by the court’s decision, reiterating concerns over potential shareholder dilution and the fairness of investment terms. “Despite this outcome, YoungPoong and MBK Partners intend to support the US smelter project so that it may deliver genuine ‘win-win’ results for the United States, Korea Zinc, and the broader Korean economy,” the pair said in a statement. In a regulatory filing, Korea Zinc said the Seoul Central Court determined that the transaction was intended to support a US-led restructuring of the global critical minerals supply chain,

The ruling, which clears the way for the project, sent Korea Zinc shares up as much as 5%, while YoungPoong shares fell as much as 10.5%. Last week, Korea Zinc, the world’s biggest refined zinc producer, said it would build a US$7.4 billion critical minerals refinery in the state of Tennessee that will be largely funded by the American government and aimed at reducing US reliance on China for materials used in chips, electronics and weapons. Under the plan, Korea Zinc will sell shares worth US$1.9 billion to a joint venture controlled by the US government and unnamed US-based strategic investors, which would then control around 10% of the South Korean firm. In a statement, Korea Zinc thanked the court